Hayden Byerly has starred as Jude Adams-Foster on Freeform’s The Fosters for five seasons and he knows exactly why the show works.

“It’s an intense show,” he says in his feature with NKD mag. “We are four seasons in now and when you start to watch it, you get pretty invested.”

AMEN!

Hayden also talks about how he’s just as invested in Jude and portraying him on screen.

“I’ve definitely had a lot of moments where I’m crying or I’m having an emotional outburst, and I feel like we all have that in our lives but then to live through that time and time again in a single day on camera can definitely be emotionally draining on anyone,” Hayden shared.

He adds, “I put so much of myself into Jude. “Even though I don’t relate to particular personality traits, I think that the most remarkable thing about Jude and I is that we are two different people in two different worlds, but we’re so connected.”

“I get super protective of Jude…I treat him like I would if I were protecting my brother or like my family. It’s an entirely different person that exists in my mind.”